


What's in a Name?

by StBridget



Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: M/M, Making Love, Names, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 05:15:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17892176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StBridget/pseuds/StBridget
Summary: There's a time and a place for everything.  Usually, they're Katsumoto and Magnum, but when Katsumoto finds a broken Magnum in the guest house, it's time for something different.





	What's in a Name?

**Author's Note:**

> Magnum P.I. is property of CBS and its creators.

It happened the first time Magnum and Katsumoto made love. It wasn’t the first time they’d had sex, not by a long shot; in the few months they’d been together as something more than platonic, they’d had plenty of hot, sweaty, athletic, vigorous, animalistic sex fueled by pent-up passion, anger, and frustration, but it was little more than fucking. There were feelings there, of course there were—Magnum and Katusmoto respected each other, had become friends, and were slowly moving beyond that into something romantic—maybe not love, not yet, but they could get there someday.

 

Right now there was a deep-seated affection that came out in cuddling on the couch, slinging their arms around each other while walking, and playfully stealing shrimp from the other’s plate at Kamekona’s. There was also copious amounts of fond teasing and name-calling that neither took seriously. What there wasn’t was tenderness—it wasn’t that Magnum and Katsumoto weren’t capable of it, but they were two alpha males coming together with explosive results.

 

Until one day about five months into their relationship. Magnum hadn’t sent the usual flurries of texts, memes, selfies, and off the wall comments that he bombarded Katsumoto with on a daily basis. Katsumoto feigned annoyance, but he enjoyed them—something amusing from Magnum made Katsumoto’s day when he was at a gruesome crime scene or bored at his desk doing paperwork. Katsumoto was worried when there was nothing. He texted Magnum to see if he wanted to do lunch, but there was no response. Katsumoto left it at that, figuring there was always a chance Magnum was on a case, not that that usually stopped the constant messages.

 

When Katsumoto hadn’t heard from Magnum by the end of the day, he swung by the guest house on his way home. By now, he was a frequent enough visitor that he had his own code. Besides, Higgins actually liked Katsumoto and would let him in when he came over, despite her professed dislike for certain others who lived on the property and shall remain nameless.

 

Katsumoto knocked on the door of the guest house, but there was no answer. “Hey, Magnum, it’s me! Open up!” Katsumoto hollered. Still no response. He tried the door, and it opened easily. That was unusual, too—Magnum was usually pretty vigilant with the security; he was a security consultant after all.

 

Concerned, Katsumoto entered the guest house. It was dark, the only light coming from the sun filtering in through the curtains. It was low in the sky, doing little to disperse the dimness in the room. “Magnum? Are you here?” Still nothing. Katsumoto put a hand on his gun as he cautiously advanced into the guest house. “Magnum?”

 

Katsumoto thought he heard a noise in the living room. He advanced slowly, scanning the room for any sign of Magnum or any sign of danger. He found neither. He did find a pile of blankets wedged into the corner of the couch. As Katsumoto watched, the blankets shifted.

 

Katsumoto approached the couch, unsure of what he’d find. As he reached the couch, the blankets rustled again, and a familiar shock of dark hair peeked out. “Magnum?”

 

Two bleary, red-rimmed eyes peered out from the blankets. “Katsumoto?”

 

“Yeah, it’s me. I came to check on you. I was worried when I didn’t hear from you. Are you okay?” Katsumoto knelt in front of Magnum, hands reaching out to check him over.

 

Magnum blinked slowly as if he were trying to bring the world into focus. “You’re really here? You’re not dead?”

 

Katsumoto finished unbundling Magnum. There was no sign of injury. Drugging was possible, though, especially given the way Magnum was acting. “Listen to me, Magnum, did anybody give you anything?”

 

Magnum shook his head, slowly. “No. They left me. Everybody left me.”

 

Katsumoto placed his hands on Magnum’s shoulders, trying to ground him. “Tell me what happened.”

 

There was a pause as Magnum’s brain tried to process his thoughts. “I was alone. It was dark. I heard screaming.” He paused.

 

“Was it in the guest house? Outside?” Katsumoto prompted.

 

Another shake of the head. “It was TC, or maybe Rick. I’m not sure. I could hear them, but I wasn’t there.”

 

Ah, a nightmare, then, or maybe a flashback. Katsumoto knew Magnum suffered from PTSD, but Magnum always shrugged it off, pretending everything rolled off him without affecting him. He wasn’t as eternally cheerful and optimistic, falsely so, as Rick, but the walls of unconcern he erected between himself and the world around him were thick. Katsumoto had seen hints of the man behind the walls, but he’d never seen the walls cracking before. Not until now. “It was a dream, Magnum. They’re not here.”

 

“No, they’re not. They’re dead. I saw them.” Magnum’s face crumpled, and he began sobbing.

 

Katsumoto wrapped his arms around Magnum and pulled the other man to his chest. The detective stroked Magnum’s head, soothingly. “No, they’re not. They’re alive and well. I just saw them at Kamekona’s.” Katsumoto actually hadn’t; he had just grabbed a sandwich at his desk when he hadn’t heard from Magnum, but Magnum didn’t need to know that.

 

Magnum gripped Katsumoto’s biceps in a vise-like grip. “No, they’re not. They’re dead, and it’s all my fault. I couldn’t save them.”

 

“Shh, it’s alright. You did save them. You saved them, and you came here to Hawaii, and you made new lives for yourselves,” Katsumoto murmured, reassuringly.

 

The sobs eased, and Magnum lifted his head. “We did?”

 

“Yeah, you did. Don’t you remember?” Katsumoto said. “Hawaii, Robin’s Nest, Higgins?” He paused, then added in a small voice. “Me?”

 

Magnum brought his hands to Katsumoto’s face, tracing it as though he were a blind man. “Katsumoto? Is that you?”

 

Katsumoto laid a hand over Magnum’s. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m here. You’re here. We’re here together.”

 

“We are?”

 

“Yeah, we are.” In an uncharacteristic gesture, Katsumoto grasped Magnum’s wrist and brought Magnum’s hand to his mouth, kissing the palm softly. “Yeah, we are,” Katsumoto repeated, “and I’m not going anywhere.”

 

“Promise?” Magnum said.

 

Katsumoto kept hold of Magnum’s hand, wrapping it in both of his. “I promise.”

 

Magnum nodded, accepting Katsumoto’s promise. They stayed that way for a few moments. “Hold me?” Magnum asked, hesitantly, clearly unsure of the response he would get.

 

“Of course.”

 

Magnum threw his arms around Katsumoto’s neck, sliding of the couch and joining the detective on the floor. Katsumoto wrapped his arms around Magnum and held tight, murmuring reassuring words. “It’s alright, Magnum, I’ve got you.”

 

“Don’t let go,” Magnum begged.

 

“I won’t,” Katsumoto assured him. He didn’t. He held Magnum for what seemed like hours, silently, just being there for the other man. After a while, Katsumoto felt Magnum’s lips moving softly against his neck. It was sweet, gentle, not the usual hungry mouthing that frequently left Katsumoto marked in places his collar barely covered.

 

Magnum’s lips continued up Katsumoto’s neck to his jaw, causing Katsumoto to let out a low moan. Magnum’s lips found the detective’s, pressing them together, moving as though searching for something.

 

Katsumoto wasn’t sure what Magnum wanted, but he tried to give it to the other man anyway. He poured all the reassurance he could into the kiss, all the affection he felt for Magnum, all the emotions he wasn’t willing to name. Magnum threw back his head and let out a moan of his own.

 

It was Katsumoto’s turn to kiss down Magnum’s neck. He pulled aside the collar of the t-shirt Magnum wore and mouthed at the exposed flesh of Magnum’s shoulder. Katsumoto wasn’t trying to mark; he just wanted to let the other man know he was there, and he cared. And, oh, did he care. Affection for this poor, broken man welled up in Katsumoto. Katsumoto just wanted to show Magnum that he wasn’t a failure, that Katsumoto liked—loved?--him just the way he was.

 

Magnum’s hands gripped Katsumoto’s arms so hard Katsumoto was sure they’d leave bruises. It didn’t matter; if Magnum needed to hold on as though he were a drowning man grasping a buoy, Katsumoto would let him. He’d let Magnum do whatever he needed.

 

“Katsumoto, please,” Magnum pleaded. “I need to feel you.”

 

Katsumoto ran his hands down Magnum’s chest and slipped them under the hem of Magnum’s t-shirt. The detective’s hands slid back up Magnum’s body, slowly, lifting the shirt above Magnum’s head and removing it when Magnum lifted his arms obligingly.

 

Katsumoto stood up, drawing Magnum up with him. “Let’s take this to the bedroom,” Katsumoto said.

 

Magnum nodded. With Magnum still clinging to Katsumoto, the detective led them up to the bedroom. He laid Magnum down gently on the bed and crawled over him, kissing him deeply. Magnum sighed, opening his mouth to Katsumoto. Katsumoto slid his tongue into Magnum’s mouth, tangling their tongues together in a sensual dance.

 

Magnum threw his head back as they drew apart. “More, please, Katsumoto. I need more.”

 

Katsumoto placed another light kiss on Magnum’s lips, then rose to take off his own shirt. Magnum whimpered at the loss, so Katsumoto covered Magnum’s body with his own, letting his heavier bulk press against Magnum, lining them up so their hard chests pressed together tightly. Magnum moaned, and Katsumoto peppered kisses on Magnum’s face, his jaw, his neck, anywhere he could reach. Magnum let out little gasps of pleasure, and Katsumoto moved lower, trailing kisses down Magnum’s body. He reached the waistband of the pajama pants Magnum wore. Katsumoto paused to kiss Magnum’s belly button before sliding the pajama pants off, laying Magnum bare. Katsumoto removed his own pants and resumed his position against Magnum.

 

“Katsumoto,” Magnum moaned.

 

“Shh, I got you, Magnum.” Katsumoto kissed Magnum lightly. The detective pressed their groins together, relishing the friction. He started to move slowly against Magnum. “I got you. I got you, Thomas.” The name slipped out, unfamiliar against Katsumoto’s tongue, but feeling oh, so right. It wasn’t Magnum and Katsumoto right now; it was Thomas and Gordon. It wasn’t two strong men working off pent-up sexual energy; it was two lovers sharing an intimate moment.

 

Their bodies slid against each other, pre-come easing the way. Katsumoto held himself above Magnum, watching his lover’s face as Magnum’s eyes closed in pleasure. “That’s it, Thomas. Close your eyes. Let go.”

 

Magnum sighed in pleasure as Katsumoto gradually sped up. Little gasps and whimpers from Magnum punctuated the air as the men moved together, rising together towards their climax.

 

They came together, both letting out long sighs as they came down from their highs. Katsumoto rolled to the side and arranged Magnum’s head on his chest. “There you go, Thomas. Sleep now.”

 

“’Kay,” Magnum murmured, sleepily. He drifted off.

 

Katsumoto lay awake, keeping guard against the nightmares. He stroked Magnum’s—no, Thomas’--hair. Maybe in the morning, when the sun was bright and cheerful and all was right with the world again, or at least they’d pretend it was, they’d be Magnum and Katsumoto again, but here, in the dark, cuddled together, naked and sweaty, Katsumoto’s heart beating steadily under Magnum’s head, they were Thomas and Gordon, and that was as it should be.

**Author's Note:**

> I believe that you're going to call someone what you and they are most comfortable with, so it's going to be Katsumoto and Magnum, at least in public, for a very long time. But there are moments it will be Thomas and Gordon. I also believe the relationship's going to be a lot of testosterone and passion, but there will be quiet, tender moments, too. That's what I tried to capture here.
> 
> I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I think I captured the mood and their feelings well. Hope you agree!


End file.
